Police Warn: Fake $20 bills being passed

Within the last week, the Salem Police Department has taken reports from two local businesses in reference to a total of three counterfeit 20 dollar bills being passed.

Police describe two of the bills as being very high quality that passed using the special ink pens that some of the businesses use. The Secret Service and U.S. Treasury do not recommend relying solely on a counterfeit-detection pen of the kind that you often see clerks use in stores.

These pens can only indicate whether the note is printed on the wrong kind of paper (they simply react to the presence of starch). As such, they will catch some counterfeits, but they won’t detect more sophisticated fakes and will give false-negatives on real money that has been through the wash.

Detective Scott Ratts has contacted the U.S. Secret Service and forwarded them the bills to be forensically examined.

Ratts urges any businesses or persons to contact the Salem Police Department if they have collected any bills that might be suspicious.